


Coming Home

by IronSwordStarShield (SweetFanfics)



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: All the survivors briefly come up, M/M, Post Infinity War, Spoilers, Steve POV, mild blood nothing explicit, mild introspection and making up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-14
Updated: 2018-05-14
Packaged: 2019-05-07 01:31:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14660547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SweetFanfics/pseuds/IronSwordStarShield
Summary: Please don't take him too. Please not him too.--Set right after Infinity War ends, Tony returns to Earth. (Steve POV)





	Coming Home

 

Less than 48 hours have passed since Thanos eradicated half the population of the galaxy when the space surveillance system Shuri, Bruce, and Rocket have set up starts to beep in alarm.

 

 _No rest for the wicked_ , Steve thinks tiredly.

 

All eyes go to Shuri, who taps her a kimoyo bead on her wrist with a frown. A hologram of the Earth shines out, complete with a dot floating towards it. 

 

“I am picking up an incoming spaceship.”

 

Rocket leans into the round table, hands flat against the dark surface, staring at the blip. “Is it Thanos?”

 

Shuri frowns, “I cannot tell from this alone. I will have to check the satellite readings.”

 

“I’ll come with you,” Bruce pipes up next to Rocket, who is already dropping out of his seat. “Cap, if it’s alright with you?”

 

Steve tiredly waves a hand. It’s not like they’d been doing anything more than going around in circles about what's their next plan of action. Might as well deal with this new threat. Talented tactician he may be, but Steve is worn down trying to understand the scale of what they've all lost. 

 

“Meeting adjourned.”

 

Everyone follows Shuri to her lab, including himself. Steve notes it’s been cleaned up since last he visited, which was when he'd ran in to see if Shuri had survived. There's no more dust, no more rubble. But no one’s repaired the broken window, he notes. A warm breeze to flows through the open room, bringing with it the sweet, warm smell of summer.

 

It feels like a reminder that life goes on despite everything.

 

No one speaks, watching the trio pull up readings from the satellites they’ve sent up into space to act as rudimentary monitoring devices. Shuri, Bruce, and Rocket silently work away. Steve idly wonders who’ll be the first to break.

 

“Well?” Thor asks in a tight voice. “Is it one of Thanos’ ships?”

 

He'd thought Nat would have asked first...

 

“It doesn’t appear to be...” Shuri starts hesitantly, frowning faintly as she flicks through screens of data. 

 

“The energy readings and the general shape of the ship doesn’t match any of Thanos’ ships,” Bruce explains on.

 

Rocket darkly mutters, “Doesn’t mean it can’t be a ship we ain’t seen before.”

 

Steve nods in grim agreement. He takes a step forward, eyeing the blip as it lazily floats closer and closer to Earth. “Can you tell where it’s going to land?”

 

“It’s going to take some time to calculate-”

 

“Somewhere on the East Coast,” Shuri interrupts Bruce. She blinks at his surprised look and asks, “Can't you tell?”

 

“Uuuh...”

 

Steve can’t hide his smile at Bruce’s half-baffled, half-amazed expression. “Somewhere on the East Coast?” he asks Shuri, hoping she'll give a more concrete answer.

 

She nods, tapping the holographic Earth to expand the map. “My best guess would be here.” Shuri loops everything between Florida to Maine. “If you’ll give me five minutes I can give you a more accurate estimation.”

 

Steve nods, “Please do.”

 

"How long is it gonna take for that ship to land?” Natasha asks.

 

Rocket’s the one who answers this time. “I’d give it another 30. Maybe 40 minutes if the atmosphere chews up that ship up on entry.”

 

Steve’s trying to tally the numbers up in his head to see if they can make it before the ship lands when Okoye says, “If we take the Royal Talon fighter we should be able to arrive within minutes of the ship landing. Provided we leave right away.”

 

“Sounds like a plan.” Steve turns to look at their small group. “Thor, Nat, Rocket, Ms. Okoye. We’ll head out as soon as the Princess has a lock on the landing site. Princess, could tell Rhodey where we’re going?”

 

“I will.”

 

He’s going to hate the fact that he’s on forced bed rest and is going to miss out on this. Steve bites down a sigh as Okoye takes charge, telling the party they will leave in ten minutes. And here he'd hoped he'd be able to get a quick nap after their meeting. 

 

The universe didn't have any kindness left to spare, he guessed.

 

\--

 

Steve keeps his mind carefully blank on the short trip to Erie, Pennsylvania, where the incoming ship was estimated to land. Better to stay in motion, look forward. Don’t stop to think. The war waged on and he didn't have time to stop and catch his breath.

 

He hears Nat inhale sharply on his left and turns his head slightly. Thor’s eyeing her with concern. “What is it?”

 

She’s staring at her phone, eyes wide. Her lips form soundless words before she holds the device out towards Thor. Steve’s eyes dart between Nat’s haunted expression and Thor’s puzzled one. Then all his attention is on Thor as he frowns. 

 

“Is this not Tony’s-”

 

“Yeah,” Nat rasps.

 

Thor looks up and sees Steve staring at him. The pained look in the god’s eyes make Steve’s stomach twist.  _No, no, no_ , he pleads with the universe.  _We’ve lost too many people already. Who else are you going to take away now?_

Steve accepts Nat’s phone and stares at the open list. He’d heard the news that people were compiling list of all the people lost during “The Event” but hadn’t seen it for himself. He’d just submitted Bucky’s and Sam's names and turned away, unable to deal with his grief. 

 

His heart feels like it’s a car crash in slow motion as he reads “Pepper Potts” under “Pepper-Anne Potter.”

 

 _Fuck_.

 

Steve looks up at Nat and hoarsely asks, “Is... Tony...?”

 

She shakes her head. “Still listed as missing.”

 

 _Where the fuck are you Tony_? Steve thinks miserably. He could use his irritatingly brilliant mind right now.

 

“For a tiny planet at the edge of the universe, this ain't that bad,” Rocket drawls, eyes roaming over the scenic view before looking over at Okoye, who is flying the plane. “Could use more greenery though.”

 

She shoots him a quick smile before sharply turning to gaze to her far left. “I see the ship.”

 

Everyone scrambles to the front of the plane. Steve slips in under Thor's arm, hand pressed next to his on the ceiling. His eyes sweep over the area Okoye has indicated, narrowing when he spies what appears to be a flaming object flying down. It's hard to tell what the ship looks like given the distance.

 

Rocket pulls a pair of googles from his belt and snaps them on. They make a whirring noise as the lenses adjust. “I see it.  _Shit_.” 

 

“What is it, Rabbit?”

 

“That’s  _The Benatar_. My...The Guardian’s ship.”

 

“Where Starlord and the others were?” Thor asks sharply, hand tightening against the ship’s ceiling.

 

“Mmhmm,” Rocket adjusts one lens with a clawed hand. “Looks like it took one hell of a beating. I think one of it’s engines is on fire.”

 

A boom follows Rocket’s words. Nat winces at the sight.

 

“One of the engines is  _definitely_ on fire,” Rocket corrects himself dryly.

 

In the half beat that follows, Steve asks Thor, “Friends?”

 

“I am familiar with the people on that ship,” Thor shoots him a quick glance and a smile. “They’re the one who saved me after Thanos attacked my people.”

 

Steve wonders how those Guardian folk found this way back to Earth. Thor  _had_ said that Starlord appeared human. Maybe he  _was_ human? Well. They’ll find out soon enough.

 

“Perhaps we should wait for the ship to land before we-”

 

“ _Shit_!” Rocket curses as the Benatar’s wing dips sharply to the left. “Who the fuck is flying it like that? Are they drunk or somethin’?”

 

Steve drops his hand on top of Okoye’s shoulder, “Land.  _Now_.”

 

Thor is a step ahead of them, opening the hatch door and dropping out. Steve sees him flying towards the alien spacecraft that completes one and a half spins before crashing into the Earth.

 

“ _Quill_!” Rocket yells, yanking his goggles off to snarl. “On the ground!  _Now_!”

 

Okoye coolly regards him before beginning landing protocols. She does it with all the grace of a Queen, every action implying “I am doing this because this is what  _I_ want. Not because you demand it.”

 

\--

 

Thor has righted the ship by the time they jog up to the burning ship. "I can't do anything about the fire," he apologizes as they all approach.

 

Rocket’s pained noises grow sharper as he draws closer. “No, no, no! What happened to you?” he asks the ship. Fire and electricity crackles in response.

 

The plume of smoke begins to rise from somewhere in the wreckage. Steve turns to Thor, “Anyone come out of there yet?”

 

“No one. I did not see anyone in the pilot's seat either."

 

Okoye scans the ship before announcing, “I sense lifeforms. One is clearly human. The other is... peculiar.”

 

“Alien peculiar?” Nat asks.

 

Okoye frowns, “I am not sure. It isn't anything I have seen before and that includes those beasts that attacked us.”

 

Steve brings up the shield King T’challa gave him before sharply saying, “Look sharp guys. It might be a trap. Thor, did you at least find a hatch or something we can kick down?”

 

With a smirk, Thor gestures for them to follow. On the other side of the ship, Thor gestures at the dented doors with his axe. “I believe the reentry malformed the metal, making it incapable of being opened from the inside.”

 

“That’s one way of putting it,” Rocket groans as he eyes the damage.

 

Steve gestures for the others to fall into place before asking Thor, “Can you rip it off?”

 

“Easily.”

 

“On my mark then.” Steve waits for Thor to get into position. Rocket whimpers for Thor to please be gentle. Steve activates his shield and holds up his free hand, five fingers. He counts down in his head.

 

Five.

 

Four.

 

Three.

 

Two.

 

One.

 

Thor rips the sealed doors off the ship’s belly with an almighty rendering sound. The long creaking sound drags against Steve’s senses, making him grit his teeth and curse his sensitive hearing. The ship sways due to the sudden motion, causing a loud bang to echo from somewhere inside of it.

 

With a questioning look at Steve, who nods at Thor even as they edge closer, Thor yells into the dark ship, “Is there anyone here? Starlord? Gamora?”

 

Silence. Metal creaking. The crackle of fire as it catches something flammable. Steve’s almost starting to believe the pilots died upon impact. He’s barely two feet away when they all hear it.

 

A slow dragging sound, like metal scrapping against metal.

 

Someone’s alive. 

 

Nat loads her guns with swift efficiency. Okote’s spear whistles as it cuts through air. Steve holds his ground, waiting for whoever it is to step into the light. Thor however, takes a step in, asking, “Who’s there?”

 

A mechanized voice yells back, “Don’t shoot!”

 

Steve glances at the others, looking for any kind of recognition. He sees none. 

 

“Who are you?” Thor calls back.

 

“Nebula.”

 

“Nebula?” Rocket echoes in surprise. “She’s alive?”

 

“Who is she?” Nat asks.

 

“Gamora’s sister. Sort-of sister. It’s complicated. She’s a friend.”

 

Steve lowers his shield half an inch as Rocket runs forward, yelling, “How the fuck are you even alive? Where are the others? We thought you were-  _oh fuck_. Who the fuck is that?”

 

“ _Tony_?” Thor’s startled question, the name taken, feels like being struck by lighting. 

 

 _Tony_?

 

“Hey big guy. Didn’t expect to see you here.”

 

Blood rushes through his ears. His body grows numb. Steve can’t believe it. He takes an unsteady step forward, praying he’s not hallucinating, that he didn't mishear. Or worse, isn't dreaming back in his room in Wakanda.

 

But no. There’s Tony coming out of the shadowed belly of the ship, pale and sweaty, but _alive_ , smiling up at Thor, who pulls the shorter man into a tight hug. “We thought you dead!”

 

Tony’s not wearing his armor. He’s wearing a hoodie and sweat pants combo. It looks a little worst for wear but Tony’s alive!

 

“Only lost,” Tony chokes out, looking paler as he weakly pats Thor's arm. “Easy there, bud.”

 

“Apologies,” Thor says, letting Tony down with a smile. Tony sways a little as Thor slaps his arm. “Where were you? How did you come in possession of this flaming craft?”

 

 _Tony’s alive_! Steve's mind is stuck, much like his feet to the ground.

 

“And how’d you find her?” Rocket asks, pointing over at Nebula, who is staring intensely at Tony. "Where the hell have  _you_ been all this time? And where are the others? Did anyone else make it?"

 

Tony shakes his head. Is it Steve’s imagination or did Tony’s pallor just go gray? Dread floods him when Tony opens his mouth, and instead of answers, crumples to the ground. 

 

“Tony!” Various voices cry out in different degrees of alarm.

 

Steve wills his feet to  _move_. To close the distance between him and Tony. Time moves too fast and too slow at the same time. It feels like one of those dreams where he’s running in place instead of out running the creatures on his heels.

 

Why does he always freeze when his friends fall? Why is he always a step too late?

 

Thor tries to catch Tony as he falls but fails. He falls with the human, calling out Tony's name in alarm as he touches Tony's sides. Steve feels like he's wading through mental quicksand. But he's there. He's standing right behind Tony when Thor raises a broad hand and sees it covered in dark red blood.

 

Thor's pale face turns to him. “He’s hurt,” he dumbly announces to the group. "Gravely I fear."

 

Nebula, hisses at the sight, “The  _idiot_! I knew he was lying to me! He said it would work!”

 

Nat turns her gun on Nebula. “Start talking,” she coolly demands.

 

The woman glares down the barrel of the gun with her dark eyes. “I saw Thanos stab him with his own blade. But he said he’d dealt with it. Used some cooling agent to seal the wound. He said it would hold on it’s way back.”

 

Steve drops to his knees next to Tony, hands frantically searching for the wound. Torso. It's like Nebula said; it's a clean entry and exit wound of approximately the same size. There's a few pale crystals clinging to Tony's hoodie that melt as hot bleep seeps through the dark hoodie. That must be what's left of the cooling agent. But what caused _that_ to-

 

He hisses when the back of his fingers brush against Tony’s cheek. “He’s got a fever.”

 

“A bad one,” Okoye agrees as she scans him with a bead. “I would hazard the wound is infected.”

 

Biting down a curse, Steve asks Thor, “Grab his feet. Someone call the Princess and tell her we're coming. Someone tell Rhodey too.”

 

 _Hang in there Tony,_ Steve pleads as he sees the triangle on Tony's chest flicker. 

 

_Please don't take him too. Please not him too._

 

_I need him too much._

 

\--

 

Steve sits next to Tony’s bedside with his hands linked against his lips. He hopes it hides his frown as he seethes.

 

Nebula has told them everything that happened on Titan and more. Tony had told her what happened after Thanos' odd ship had landed in New York and she relayed it back.

 

_Of all the reckless-_

_That was so-_

_God dammit Tony-_

A thousand lectures start and finish in Steve’s mind as he stares at Tony’s vitals. A large part of him wants to shake Tony, ask him what was he thinking trying to go up against a guy like Thanos? That was practically a suicide mission!

 

But the other part of him is awed. Tony went toe to toe with Thanos and lived to tell the tale. Tony survived moon meteors being dropped on him!

 

He shakes his head in disbelief. That’s Tony, always beating the crap hand dealt to him.

 

 _We could use some of that right now,_ Steve thinks to himself.

 

A soft rattling sound pulls Steve out of his thoughts, out of trying to imagine the scene Nebula had described. The destroyed planet, Thanos fighting Tony, most of the people on Titan turning to ash.

 

At the doorway, Shuri smiles sheepishly at him as she presses the bowl’s noisy cover down. “I thought you might be hungry,” she explains.

 

Steve isn’t but he’ll take the distraction. He smiles up at her as he accepts the food tray, “Thank you.”

 

There’s a glass of milk, a sticky rice dish, what looks like beef stew, and some fresh vegetables. Good, hearty fair that’s meant to give a body and soul strength. It’s unfortunate that it’s going to taste like chalk on his tongue.

 

Steve ignores the food and instead asks, "How's he doing?"

 

"Better," Shuri tells him. "He still has a fever but the antidote Dr. Banner and I made seems to be doing it's job." She pulls away the sheet to check Tony's bandaged wound. Across from her, Steve holds his breath and stares at her face. She lights up at whatever she sees under the cotton and gauze. "The wound is healing nicely as well. The swelling has gone down. All good signs."

 

Part of the weight on his chest melts at the good news.

 

With a nod, Shuri turns to look at the monitors before saying, “You could go back to your room to eat. I can set up an alarm to notify you when he wakes up. Or perhaps you would like to join the others?”

 

Steve shakes his head immediately, something twisting inside of him when he admits, “I owe it to him to stay here. I... I don’t want him to be alone.”

 

“As you wish, Captain.” Shuri demures. She takes notes of the readings on the wall behind Tony, tapping a few values before stepping back. “Please let the guard outside know if you need anything. I will be in my lab.”

 

“I will. Thank you, Princess.”

 

 _Could the guard help me write an apology for betraying a friends trust?_ Steve wryly thinks as he moodily pushes the rice around with a spoon.  _Because that’d be swell_.

 

\--

 

 

They're back at the ship. It's him, Rocket, Nebula, and Shuri. 

 

Rocket quietly goes through what's left, pausing every so often as he finds a still in-tact personal artifact. Shuri is scanning everything with sharp eyes and her beads. Nebula stands next to him in front of the main pilot's seat. You can't see the dried blood thanks to the dark seat cover but you can't miss the smell of dried blood.

 

"Thanos pulled meteors off Titan's moon down on him," Nebula continues to describe the battle. "Several of them hit the ship. But Tony said he could patch it up just enough for us to get to Earth."

 

Of course he could. Tony build an arc reactor and Iron Man in a cave full of scraps. Slapping a band-aid on an alien ship to make it capable of inter-space travel was surely a cake-walk in comparison. Steve exhales from his nose and breathes in through his mouth. "What about his wound? You said-"

 

"It happened at the end. He fought to the bitter end, despite the fact that his armor was giving up on him. He formed a blade," Nebula holds up a hand, curling it into a fist to demonstrate. "But Thanos snapped it off and stabbed him with it. He left shortly after that. And after that..."

 

There's an odd fog that's settled in Steve's head. It grows heavy the more he stares at the seat. Nebula's voice turns into a distant hum as she explains what happened afterwards. But Steve is skipped forward. He can see Tony staggering into the pilot's seat, snapping at the alien girl that he can fly this rust bucket with one arm tied behind his back. That he's fine. That he's fixed the bleeding wound. 

 

That they can make it.

 

Steve wonders, as he notes a smear of blood on one of the controls, when did Tony notice that whatever he'd used to seal his wound was beginning to melt. Is that what had spurred him to take the risk of jumping too soon and thereby risk the engine's failing? Or was that always part of the plan? He never could tell where calculated risks ended and crazy ideas began for Tony.

 

 _He's alive at least,_ Steve reminds himself for the nth time. Tony's battling an alien infection but he's still part of the living. It's the first piece of good news they've had since... 

 

A soft touch against his shoulder makes him start and stare at Shuri, who smiles faintly at him. "I'm sorry but it's time to go. Rocket has collected everything he needed."

 

He nods robotically, stomach churning as he accidentally breathes in through his nose and gets another hit of dried blood.

 

Steve throws up as soon as they're outside.

 

\--

 

It’s not easy to apologize for breaking Tony’s trust even when he’s passed out and can’t hear Steve. But Steve whispers it anyways. He’s read so many stories of coma patients who claim to have heard people talking to them. Of people who woke up from their sleep and knew their loved ones had told them stories and conversed with them.

 

Steve holds onto that hope and prays that Tony can hear him.

 

He ignores how cowardly that makes him but Steve’s not sure he’d strong enough to bear the weight of Tony’s betrayed, hurt gaze these days. Steve might crumble. So he stares down at his dusty boots and apologizes to Tony.

 

Offers his excuses for why he didn’t tell Tony and wrings his hands. Steve closes his eyes and asks for forgiveness even though he’s sure he doesn’t deserve it. But he’s selfish.

 

Tony offers nothing but silence in return.

 

Steady breath in, steady breath out. His heart rate is normal, brain waves normal. 

 

He sleeps, blissfully unaware that Steve's apologized to him for the third time.

 

Steve sighs and stares mournfully down at his tray of food. It’s long gone cold and he’d barely taken three bites of it. But those three bites sit in his throat, making it hard for him to breath and swallow.

 

“Please wake up Tony,” Steve pleads. “Earth needs you. The Avengers need you.  _I_ need you.”

 

Tony’s chest rises and falls steadily.

 

His brain whispers,  _Sleeping beauty_ , at him. Steve tentatively reaches out to take hold of Tony's hand and squeezes it gently. 

 

No change in Tony's vitals.

 

Steve clasps Tony's hand between both of his own and holds it against his head. He wipes away the thick layer of dust and cobweb off his oldest memories and whispers broken prayers to whoever is listening.

 

\--

 

The Chitauri attack a few hours later. Revenge they called it, for their fallen breathern. Thor’s finger tips had cracked with lightning as he darkly said, “If it is revenge they seek, then they shall have it.”

 

They’d landed in China this time, falling through a portal in the sky that brings back too many memories. It makes for a longer flight than it would have to New York. Steve’s knuckles are white the entire ride over. Adrenaline thrums in his veins, making him feel like a strung arrow ready to fly. 

 

Speaking of which, he turns to look at Clint, who is grimly staring down at his screen where a news reporter is nervously chattering away in Chinese to the camera man. The view shifts from her to the scene behind her and the giant mechanical whales that are flying over Shenzhen, destroying everything in their path.

 

“How much longer?” Nat asks in a too calm voice.

 

“Another hour.”

 

Clint swears under his breath when the whale’s belly crashes into a skyscraper.

 

\--

 

It’s not the first time they’ve fought with the odds against them. It’s not the first time they’ve fought long and hard enough that Steve begins to tire.

 

But something’s different this time.

 

His body feels heavier. Feels fatigued. 

 

It feels like trying to fight a tsunami using a tea cup. 

 

But they need to fight. People’s lives depend on it.  _No more,_ Steve swears to himself as he kicks a Chitari centurion in the chest.  _We’re not losing anymore people_.

 

“ _Behind you, Cap_!” he hears Rhodey yell from somewhere above and into his ear through the comm.

 

Steve turns, shield raised. Time stands still for one awful minute. There’s five Chitauri spears hurtling his way in a wide spread. He could spin and dodge one, try to catch another, and neutralize another with the short shield but he’s still going to take some damage. 

 

And these are new spears that electrocute the person upon impact. 

 

 _This is going to hurt_ , Steve thinks as he steels himself for the pain, already turning in place. 

 

A beam of blue bursts out of no where and turns the spears to ash, leaving Steve to finish his half turn at an awkward stumble. He stares at the black ashes before looking up in wonder. Was that Rhodey? 

 

Static crackles in his ear before a familiar voice cheerfully asks, “Hey Cap. You miss me?” 

 

“Tony?” Steve laughs, one finger pressed against his ear. “Is that you? What the hell are you doing here?”

 

He sees a blur of red and gold zipping around a building.

 

“Princess Shuri told me what was happening and I decided to come join in on the fun.” 

 

Steve turns when he sees the red blur complete its turn around the building and fly down to the ground. He grins as Iron Man elegantly flies down in front of him, the face plate opening with a pressurized hiss to reveal Tony’s smile. 

 

“Tony,” Steve breathes out in relief. Before he knows what he’s doing, Steve’s pulling Tony in for a hug.

 

_He's alive!_

 

Steve feels warm for the first time in  _days_. The armor creaks a little due to the force of his hug. 

 

A surprised noise breaks out from Tony, hands coming to rest on Steve’s shoulders. “Cap,” Tony laughs, “Guess you really did miss me.”

_More that you’ll know,_ Steve thinks as he pulls away with a grin. Tony is moving already, shifting to take a brown satchel off his shoulders. Once off, he holds it out towards Steve. 

 

“This is yours.”

 

Steve accepts the bag, wondering what on Earth could Tony possibly have that would...The thought floats away when he sees the familiar flash fo colors and star. Steve beams at his shield, looking up at Tony’s bashful smile. “You kept it?”

 

“Of course.” Tony’s expression dims for a moment. “Ca-Steve. I’m sorry.”

 

“No.  _I’m_ sorry.” Steve interrupts, taking a step forward to touch Tony’s shoulder. “I should have-”

 

A Chitauri soldier screams as it plummets to its death, landing with a resounding thud a couple of feet away from Steve and Tony, both of whom flinch at the impact and the sound.

 

“Rain check?” Tony asks, face plate lowering. He raises his hands to face the enemy, repulsor beams humming as they charge up.

 

With a grin and a nod, Steve turns so that he’s back to back with Tony. “You watch my back, I’ll watch yours?”

 

“Sounds like a plan.”


End file.
